Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

When Kate Greene was diagnosed with terminal
cancer she had to come to terms with knowing she would never see her sons grow
into men.
Nevertheless, intent on being a lasting
presence in their lives, she drew up a 'mummy's manual' to guide them and their
father after she passed away.
Now grieving widower St John Greene, 45, will
be able to realise nearly all his late wife's dying wishes with a £100,000 deal
to publish a book based on the heart-wrenching list.

Tragic: St John and Kate Greene with their sons Reef and
Finn on a trip to Disney World, Florida. Mr Greene has won a £100,000 deal to
publish a book based on the 'mummy's list' she drew up in the weeks before her
death

The emotional document, written by Mrs Greene
in the weeks before her tragic death aged 37 from breast cancer, is already
tipped as a bestseller when it hits the shelves next month.
The wish list ranges from the humble 'buy
Orange Club Biscuits regularly', to the poignant 'always kiss the boys
goodnight', and the adventurous 'take the boys diving in Belize'
She outlines the basic principles Mr Greene
should instil in Reef, seven, and Finn, six, such as to be always on time, to
treat girlfriends with respect and to make up after a row.
Mr Greene, from Clevedon, Somerset, said: 'She
knew what she was doing when she wrote the list. She wanted to make sure she was
always there for the boys in some form.
'She knew if I bought orange Club biscuits
each week for example, they would be reminded each week that they were her
favourites. It was a way to keep the memories alive.
'She asked that I take the boys back to the
beach in South Wales where she used to love to take them crab fishing, she asked
that I buy a dining table so we can have proper family meals at least once a
week, she asked me to make memory scrapbooks with the boys and keep their
certificates in special achievement boxes.
'These are all things I’ve managed to tick off
the list in the last couple of years. But now with the publishing deal, there
are plenty of things out-of-our reach before that can become a
reality.
'First on the list is a trip to Belize. It was
somewhere we wanted to go as a couple to dive before the boys were born, but we
never got around to it.
'So Kate said, "If you can’t take me there,
you can at least take a couple of bits of me - you can take the
boys".'